Parramatta winger Blake Ferguson could be set for a stint on the sidelines after being forced from the field during his side's bruising 19-0 loss to Canberra on Sunday.
Ferguson, who has enjoyed a stellar start to the season with the Eels, broke his nose and suffered a suspected rib injury in the first half. He underwent a pain-killing injection at half-time in an attempt to play on.
After copping another hit to the rib injury after fielding a Raiders bomb, Ferguson was forced from the field in the 45th minute.
The injury not only puts a possible dent in Ferguson's State of Origin claims for NSW, but it leaves Eels coach Brad Arthur with a big hole to fill, as the side looks to regroup from their shut-out loss to the Raiders.
"He got a whack in the ribs, it was early in the game and he tried to play on for us and he got a needle, but he couldn't do his job properly, so we had to make a change," Arthur said.
"He'll need to get x-rays tomorrow but he's pretty sore.
"His nose doesn't look too good, but I am sure they'll try and straighten it and he'll be right next week.
Match Highlights: Raiders v Eels
"We'll wait and see if he's in or out next week and then we'll worry about."
Poor discipline with the ball hamstrung the Eels at GIO Stadium as they recorded a 56 per cent completion rate due to 18 errors.
Arthur preached in the lead-up to the crucial clash his side's defence in the middle third would have to be watertight, but it was anything but that apart from 20 minutes on their line in the first half.
The sheer weight of possession for the Raiders piled up as Parramatta missed 53 tackles with Canberra scoring two second half tries to seal their third win a row
"We made somewhere around 200 tackles in the first half and defended our line for the first 20 minutes and I thought we did a good job," Arthur said.
"I thought we then scored a try and it was called back for a forward pass. I don't think it's forward, it's a big call in the game for mine.
"That might have been nice, put the ball down under the posts, 6-0 after defending our line for 20 minutes.
"But we've got to be better at not putting ourselves under pressure. Three tries on fifth tackle and two of them off kicks, so we put ourselves sunder that sort of pressure, but I thought they [Canberra] did a good job at building pressure."
After their horror 2018 campaign, the Eels entered the GIO Stadium game full of confidence after starting the season with a flurry to earn them three wins out of the first month.
Despite the shut-out loss, Arthur was looking to the future and a round six clash, with the Wests Tigers fresh off their last-gasp win over Brisbane.
"I was extremely proud of our goal-line defence [against Canberra]," Arthur said.
"They scored off kicks and they've been playing really good football Canberra so it's a tough road trip.
"So we've got to go back and regroup but we've got to make sure they [Eels players] keep coming with the same attitude to their football.
"But hopefully we give ourselves a bit more a chance by having an even share of the ball."
